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Stubborn King

Champakvan’s new king, Sheru Singh, was a very just and caring ruler. However, he was also extremely stubborn. Very often he was struck by new ideas and would forget everything and stubbornly concentrate on accomplishing them. This habit often entrapped him in troubles; still Sheru Singh could not free himself of it.

Minister Happy Elephant was always worried because of the king’s habit.

One day when Happy went to pay a visit to the king, he found Sheru Singh sitting solemnly under a tree in the royal gardens.

“Maharaj, what are you gazing at in the sky sitting under this tree?” Happy asked.

“Happyji, I am thinking of something,” King Sheru Singh replied, still looking at the sky.

His words caused a wave of panic in Happy’s mind, thinking that some new idea had germinated in Sheru Singh’s psyche. “Maharaj, please do not think, sitting alone like this,” he said.

“Ministerji, at least listen to me. I was thinking how can the birds fly in the sky?”

“Maharaj, the bodies of the birds is made in a way that they can easily fly,” Happy grew more suspicious.

“That is true, Ministerji, but birds can also fly because they have wings. If I had wings, could I have flown?” King Sheru Singh asked, still lost in thoughts.

“I don’t know Maharaj, but why think about it, when it is impossible? Think about the various schemes you are planning for the masses,” Happy suggested.

“But Happyji, just imagine that if I had wings, then I could fly, right?” Sheru Singh asked again.

“Maharaj, I am very heavy, so maybe I would be unable to fly, but I think you can,” Happy pondered and said.

King Sheru Singh’s face beamed with happiness at Minister Happy’s words.

“Ministerji, I want to fly,” Happy could not believe his ears at King Sheru Singh’s declaration.

“What are you saying, Maharaj?” Happy expressed his disbelief. “How can you fly? You have no wings!”

“That I do not know. I just want to fly. Ministerji, you are so sharp. Think of a way so that I can fly,” Sheru Singh was back to his stubbornness.

“But Maharaj, how can you…”

“Umm… Umm… What kind of a minister are you, who cannot even fulfill a small wish of your king. I just want to fly somehow,” Sheru Singh began crying like a small child.

Happy became nervous at the sight of the king crying. “Maharaj, what are you doing? If anybody sees you crying like this, what will they think? Please stop crying. I will think of something.”

“Maharaj, I will lift you up with my trunk and walk from one place to another. This will make you feel as if you are flying,” Happy came up with this bright idea after contemplating for a long time.

“No, not like this,” said the king petulantly. “I want to actually fly like the birds.”

“Maharaj, do not be stubborn. You are trying to do the impossible. Can I think it will be possible for me to become slimmer than a bear if I am on a diet? In the same way, your flying is also impossible.”

“Okay, tell me why I cannot fly?”

“Maharaj, there are many reasons for it. You do not have wings and your body is too heavy.”

“I have a solution for this problem,” King Sheru Singh exclaimed happily.

“What solution, Maharaj?” Happy asked in despair.

“I need a pair of artificial wings. Since I am huge, the wings too have to be big,” King Sheru Singh declared.

“No Maharaj, this is impossible.”

“Everything is possible, Ministerji. Just wait and watch,” King Sheru Singh said and went to the weaving bird. He got two big wings made out of many palm leaves.

King Sheru Singh took the wings to Minister Happy, “Ministerji, look at these. I have especially got them made for myself.”

“Maharaj, you will not be able to fly with such heavy wings. Even the birds will be unable to fly with such heavy wings,” Happy said, after inspecting the wings.

“Ministerji, do not worry, just come with me. I will jump from the hill and fly with the help of these wings.”

King Sheru Singh’s words gave Happy enough reason to panic. He realized it would be pointless to make Sheru Singh understand the gravity of his action. He would never listen to him.

“Maharaj, you carry on. I will follow you,” Happy said and went away.

When he reached the hill after a while, King Sheru Singh was ready with his wings to fly.

“Maharaj, tie this rope to your leg,” Happy gave one end of a rope to the king.

“What is it for, Ministerji?”

“So that you do not fly away too far,” Happy replied. King Sheru Singh did as Happy had asked him and jumped from the hill.

He could not, fly, and started falling down into the valley below with great speed. Happy saw this and quickly pulled the rope with his hands.

Sheru Singh did not fall in the valley due to the rope but was badly hurt because of colliding with the rocky hill. By the time Happy pulled him up the hill, he was bleeding profusely.

“Maharaj, are you all right?” enquired Happy with concern for his king.

“You saved my life otherwise I would surely have fallen down very far,” King Sheru Singh groaned with pain.

“Maharaj, you are safe, I am happy about that. These wounds will soon heal,” Happy said as he began untying the knot of the rope from Sheru Singh’s leg.

“Ministerji, I am thinking about something.”

“Maharaj, such a big mishap was about to happen and here you are again thinking!” Happy was shocked.

“Ministerji, this time my thoughts are of good intention. I am thinking that one should not blindly ape others but try to be happy just the way one is.

“Now look at me. I tried to copy the birds and wanted to fly like them, without even thinking that it is impossible. See, I am so badly hurt. I have decided that now I will never imitate others and not be stubborn about anything. What is the point of being stubborn, if it gets one into trouble?”

King Sheru Singh’s words made Happy breathe a sigh of relief. After all, his king had left behind his bad habit of being stubborn without reason.

A Cause for Celebration

It was a big day in the Arabian Sea. All the fishes were travelling towards the Sea Palace. It was the birthday of their princess, Julia, the mermaid.

Mermaids look different from ordinary fishes. A mermaid’s upper body is human and her lower half is a fish.

A grand birthday party was organised at the palace for which all the fishes were invited. Among the invitees at Princess Julia’s birthday party were the whales, sharks, lionfishes, jellyfishes, octopuses and the three-legged fish.

They all made their way to the palace carrying gifts.

The palace lawn had the food stalls. The menu included sushi, soups, noodles and stir-fried chicken. Besides, they had Asian bamboo rice, butter chicken, kebabs, Korean vegetable dumplings, and fruit ice cream.

The guests were enjoying the delicious food and the pastry.

A stage had been set up where several young fishes were performing a variety of dances including step-dance, hip-hop, salsa.

Another big stage was set up at the centre of the palace. It was beautifully decorated with glittering garlands, balloons, flowers and glowing stars.

On the stage was a large seven-tiered chocolate cake.

Princess Julia, wearing a beautiful blue gown and a diamond crown, arrived on the stage along with her friends. The guests welcomed her with a loud applause.

As Julia cut the cake, the guests sang, “Happy birthday to you, Julia!” Princess Julia was overjoyed.

Everyone was having fun at the party when suddenly, a dolphin whistled loudly. The other dolphins too followed suit.

Dolphins can make different kinds of sounds to convey different messages. The other guest at the party knew the sound that the dolphins were making now meant there was danger nearby. When the guests asked them, one of the dolphins said, “A big fishing vessel is on the way to catch us!”

All the fishes panicked. They started running helter-skelter but a blue whale stopped them.

“Do not panic! The humans don’t know that if I get angry, I can topple the whole ship!” said the blue whale. “I am after all the largest animal known to have ever existed—I am four times larger than a large dinosaur and weigh several tonnes more. Please carry on with the party while I go and teach those fishermen a lesson.”

“Please do not harm them. Just scare them away,” said Princess Julia.

The blue whale left the party accompanied by a large shark. When the two returned after a while, everyone eagerly gathered around them to find out what had actully happened.

When the blue whale and the shark opened their jaws, four fishermen with diving gear and spears came out of them. They looked terrified.

All the guests were shocked!

“Princess Julia, we should thank the dolphins for warning us in advance otherwise all of us would have been trapped in their net. These humans had come prepared to catch even the largest of fishes. They had large nets and spears with them,” said the blue whale.

“We must punish them severely for this, Princess Julia,” said the shark.

“Yes, we must punish them!” the other fishes agreed.

The fishermen trembled at the sight of all the angry fishes. They turned to Princess Julia and begged for forgiveness.

“We will never come here again. Please don’t punish us,” the fishermen pleaded.

Princess Julia felt sympathetic towards the fishermen.

“Today is a day of happiness. Let’s not punish these men. Let’s forgive them and include them in our celebrations so that they too can share our happiness,” said Princess Julia.

All the fishes were pleased with the princess’s decision.

“That’s how a princess ought to be!” they applauded her.

Happy Holi!

Champakvan looked colourful as it was celebrating the festival of Holi. Dumpy the Donkey, Jumbo the Elephant, Jumpy the Monkey, Vicky the Deer, Blacky the Bear and Freddy the Giraffe were happily playing Holi with each other. They were spraying water using colourful pichkaris and rubbing colours on each other’s face. The entire place looked cheerful.

After a short while, Barney the Hyena, Baddy the Fox and Spotty the Cheetah arrived. This trio was very mischievous.

“Holi celebrations with just the gulaal? This is indeed a very dull festival,” said Barney the Hyena.

“True,” said Baddy the Fox. “This is so boring Holi should be played like this.” he said and caught hold of Vicky the Deer. He stained Vicky’s face with black colour.

Vicky angrily asked, “What have you done, Baddy? What have you applied on my face? I am feeling a burning and itching sensation.” He started scratching his face.

Baddy, Barney and Spotty burst out laughing. They said, “Well, this is the real fun. Now all of you get your face painted black. Then let’s go to the main road. There, we’ll stain the faces of every passerby.”

“We shall not do that. You have spoilt our celebrations. We were playing with gulaal. It is an eco-friendly colour. It doesn’t harm anyone. Your kind of Holi is disgusting. What is the point in painting someone’s face black? It makes them look awful. Look how troubled Vicky is. He will have to put in so much effort to get the colour off his face. A lot of water will be wasted,” said Dumpy. “I was always for celebrating Holi without the use of water but friends insisted so I agreed.

Getting this gulaal off our face will not use a large amount of water.”

“Vicky will have a tough time washing the colour off his face. It is not good to use muck, soil, dung, coal tar and other itchy substances to play Holi. We would appreciate it if the three of you went away from here,” added Jumbo. “We wanted to play Holi with you as well. Now, I am not in the mood. It is better that you go away before I lose my temper.”

Barney said, “Jumbo, you seem to be really upset. According to us, this is the actual fun of Holi. If you so wish, we shall go from here.” He added, “Baddy, Spotty, let’s go.”

“Sure,” said Spotty. He splashed some muck onto Freddy’s face before leaving.

Dumpy and Jumbo could not tolerate this anymore. They did not let them go. Jumbo caught hold of Spotty.

He held him in his trunk and started twirling him around. Dumpy, on the other hand started kicking Barney continuously.

Baddy the Fox tried to escape. Freddy the Giraffe caught hold of him. Jumpy the Monkey and Blacky the Bear started hitting Baddy. Vicky also joined the gang. He began poking Baddy with his long, sharp horns.

Some other animals of Champakvan saw this. They thought that the kids were enjoying the festival. They thought that Spotty was enjoying being twirled in Jumbo’s trunk. They were happy for the kids. The animals also saw Dumpy kicking Barney. They assumed that it was a new way of celebrating Holi. After a few minutes, they heard Spotty, Baddy and Barney’s cries for help. That was when they realised that these three were being beaten up by the others. They rushed to help them. They asked the kids as to why they were beating the trio.

Dumpy narrated the entire incident to the other animals. He added, “We are aware that Champakvan is facing an acute shortage of water this year. If we waste water playing Holi, we shall face worse problems in the near future. I tried explaining the same to Barney, Baddy and Spotty. These three didn’t listen. They kept applying muck on our faces. Thus, we had to teach them a lesson.

The oldest Lion of Champakvan, Leonard heard this. He angrily said, “True. They deserve this punishment. These three have cut down many trees in order to light a fire for Holi. They have also destroyed some huts. They are indeed wicked. All of you should hit them a little more.”

“Sorry, Grandpa,” replied Spotty, Baddy and Barney. “Please forgive us. We shall not repeat this mistake.” All three of them kneeled down. They started begging for forgiveness.

“Alright!” Leonard said. “We forgive you. Do not repeat such mischief again. It is a festive occasion. We must celebrate it with love and happiness. We must make friends and not enemies. Now patch up with Jumbo, Dumpy, Vicky, Blacky and Freddy.” Baddy, Spotty and Barney were still nervous about extending a hand of friendship towards the other kids. Dumpy and Jumbo came forward. They gave them a warm hug.

Everyone felt happy with this gesture from Dumpy and Jumbo. All the animals then proceeded towards Leonard’s house. They played Holi with each other till the evening. It was a colourful Holi using dry colours; with a feeling of love and brotherhood. It was indeed a memorable Holi celebration at Champakvan.

Toto Finds His Way

Deep lived with his parents and grandfather in Delhi. Every evening he played with his beloved pet dog Toto in the park.

After a while, many people stopped playing sports and flew kites. Deep also stopped going to the park with Toto. Instead he started flying his kite on the roof with his friends. Deep loved to fly a golden kite. Many people recognized Deep’s kite because of its unique colour.

Days passed. Toto was bored. He felt neglected. One day, when Deep’s mother went shopping in the morning, she forgot to lock the main gate. Toto saw this as an opportunity to run to the park.

He slipped through the door and ran out. Toto used to accompany Deep to the park. Hence didn’t know the way to the park himself. Luckily he saw Deep’s friend Shyam going towards the park and followed him.

Mittu, the pet dog

After reaching the garden, Toto ran through the bushes. He was so excited that he ran happily throughout the park.

He was glad that he could return to the park.

Soon it grew dark. Dark clouds covered the sky. Everyone in the park rushed home.

Toto realised that he should get back home through the front gate. But Toto was lost. He looked left and he looked right, but he didn’t know which way to go. Everyone in the park had already left, so Toto couldn’t ask for help. He began to panic and felt a little afraid. He walked around aimlessly.

It started to rain and Toto was walking alone on the streets. Meanwhile, Deep had come down, as he had thought of playing with Toto. He searched for him everywhere in the house, but he could not Toto.

The whole family wondered where Toto was. As soon as the rain stopped Deep and the other family members went out on the streets, calling Toto’s name.

They went to the park, the market, the badminton grounds, but were unable to find Toto. Deep returned home disappointed and sad.

The family members returned too, failing to find Toto. They were heartbroken and tensed and began to think on ways to find Toto.

Suddenly Deep’s grandfather exclaimed, “I have an idea!” He told the others the plan. Everyone agreed and hoped it would work. Deep and his mother got a big golden kite and attached golden sparkling papers to the thread.

Deep took the kite and ran to his roof. The whole family followed him.

Deep flew the kite higher and made it go further.

Toto in the meantime was crying as he couldn’t find his way back. He was hiding under a bench when he suddenly noticed something.

Looking carefully, Toto noticed a big golden kite flying in the sky. He was thrilled! Toto knew that only Deep flew golden kites.

Toto spotted the flying thread clearly because Deep had attached golden sparkling papers to the flying thread.

Toto followed the thread in the sky and after crossing a few streets, he reached to a familiar neighbourhood. Toto was happy and found his way home. He barked happily when he landed on the doorstep.

Everyone was happy when they heard Toto’s bark again.

Deep hugged him. Toto jumped around him. Deep never left his favourite pet alone again and took him to the park to play always.

Sweety Learns a Valuable Lesson

Sundays always saw Sweety in a great mood. Sundays were special as Sweety’s mother would be busy with work during the weekdays. So, on Sundays they would always go to the mall. Although Sweety was a good kid, she did not always listen to her parents.

“Sweety, the mall will be crowded today. Do not go anywhere without telling me. Walk along with me,” mother told Sweety.

“Yes mom. I want to play games and have a softy ice-cream, a savoury pastry and a tub of popcorn!” said Sweety, excited.

The mall was a huge three-storied building. It was crowded as many families had come there, since it was a Sunday.

Sweety and her mother first purchased some clothes for Sweety. Then Sweety’s mother said, “I have to buy this month’s groceries. This place is very crowded. Let’s go to the payment counter with these packages. You just be careful and stick with me.” Sweety nodded her head.

Sweety’s mother packed the rice and wheat that she had purchased and went to check its weight at the counter.

The toy rack behind them caught Sweety’s attention. She thought, “There are so many toys and games on that rack. I can quickly check the toys and come back.”

Sweety went to the rack without informing her mother. Meanwhile, the crowd in the store was increasing. Sweety was so busy examining the toys that she forgot to stick with her mother.

Sweety’s mother paid the bill but she panicked when she discovered that she could not see Sweety anywhere.

Sweety’s mother asked people if they had seen a small, curly-haired girl nearby. But there were just too many people and nobody had seen Sweety.

About half an hour later, Sweety came back to the counter where she had last seen her mother. She got scared and started crying when she did not see her mother.

“I can’t find my mother,” said Sweety, wiping her tears.

The lady said, “Don’t be scared… Let’s go to the first floor. The customer care people will make an announcement, and then your mom will come to pick you.”

Both of them quickly went to the first floor. The lady told the customer care people what had happened.

One of them made an announcement, “A child has been separated from her mother in this mall. Her name is Sweety, she has curly hair and she is wearing a red frock. If her mother is hearing this, please come soon to the customer care centre.”

Sweety’s mother heard the announcement and rushed over. Sweety was relieved to see her mother again. She hugged her mother tightly and narrated the entire incident. Her mother thanked everyone for helping sweety and they left the mall.

But mother was angry with Sweety. She said, “I told you to stick with me. Despite that, you wandered off. Did you think about what could have happened if somebody kidnapped you?”

Sweety understood her mistake. She said, “I am sorry mom, I made a mistake. I will listen to everything you say henceforth.” Her mother then let her play for some time and later they went to have a soft-serve cone and a savoury pastry.

Sweety had learnt a valuable lesson. She mended her ways and started listening to what her parents told her. •

Champi the Cheat

Ktty was one of the cutest kittens living in Gopalvan. She was very playful. All the birds and animals of Gopalvan were very fond of her. She eventually grew up and became a beautiful cat. Kitty remained a loving and caring cat. She was very helpful.

Once, Kitty visited a fun-n-fair. She bought a cow. She took good care of the cow. She bathed her every day. She also took her out to graze. She made butter out of the cow’s milk. She sold the butter in the market. Kitty earned a lot of money by selling butter. She used this money to build a beautiful house for herself.

Whenever Kitty went to the market with a pot-full of butter, the kids of Gopalvan used to run behind her asking for some butter. Kitty used to give some butter to each one of them. She would then proceed to the market. She never refused to give them butter. Thus, the kids were fond of Kitty.

One evening, Champi the Mouse came to Kitty’s house.

“What is the matter Champi? Why are you upset?” Kitty asked.

“My son Sonu is not keeping well. He wants butter. I cannot afford to buy it as it is very expensive,” said Champi, with tears in her eyes.

Kitty smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Champi. I will give you some butter for Sonu every day.”

Kitty gave her one tablespoon of butter. Champi thanked Kitty. She returned home.

Every morning, Champi went to Kitty’s house. She returned home with a spoonful of delicious butter. Manglu the Fox saw this. He became jealous. He asked Champi, “Can I tell you something?”

Champi wondered what Manglu wanted to tell her. She asked, “Manglu, what is it?”

Manglu said, “I have a fantastic idea. We can steal Kitty’s cow. Then we can use its milk to make butter. We can sell the butter and earn money. This way we’ll become very rich.”

At first, Champi was a little annoyed. However, she soon became greedy. She agreed to be a part of Manglu’s plan to steal Kitty’s cow.

Champi knew each and every entry point at Kitty’s house. That night, Manglu and Champi went quietly to Kitty’s house. They stole her cow. They hid the cow in Manglu’s house.

The next morning when Kitty couldn’t find her cow, she realised that someone had stolen it. Kitty was upset. She asked Kalu the Crow, Bholu the Monkey, Bantu the Dog and a few other animals whether they had seen her cow. However, no one knew its whereabouts.

On the other hand, Manglu and Champi secretly started making money by selling butter prepared from the cow’s milk. They earned a lot of money. Soon they became rich.

One evening, Bantu was returning home from the market. He happened to pass by Manglu’s house. He heard a cow mooing. He thought that the sound came from Manglu’s house. He wondered whether Manglu had stolen Kitty’s cow.

It was quite dark. Bantu peeped through the window into Manglu’s house. He saw that Champi and Manglu were happily relishing butter while the cow was sitting nearby. Bantu knew that it was Kitty’s cow. Therefore, he decided to teach them a lesson.

Bantu told Kitty, Bholu and Kalu about the incident. That night, four of them headed towards Manglu’s house with sticks in their hands. They knocked on the door. As soon as Manglu opened the door, they started trashing him. Hearing his screams, Champi, who was asleep, woke up. She also got a good beating from Bantu.

Manglu’s legs were badly injured. He could barely walk. Bantu hung Champi upside down on a tree because she had cheated Kitty.

Kitty was happy to get her cow back. She thanked Bantu, Kalu and Bholu for helping her punish the thieves. Kitty returned home with her cow. That night she slept peacefully..

The Finder Of Lost Things

Wily Wolf was a lazy fellow. He didn’t like to work hard and took up small jobs now and then for a living. His meager income was not enough for his family to live on.

Wily Wolf often wondered what he could do to augment his income without having to work too hard.

One day, he saw Jumbo Elephant anxiously searching for something. Wily Wolf noticed that Jumbo Elephant looked very worried and wondered if something valuable was missing.

“What are you searching for, Jumbo?” he asked curiously.

“I’ve lost my ration card,” said Jumbo Elephant worriedly.

The Road to Change

“Really? You must have thrown it in the dustbin,” Wily Wolf joked and laughed.

But to his surprise, Jumbo Elephant really peeped in the dustbin. And to his great astonishment, the ration card was really there!

“You were absolutely right, Wily!” Jumbo Elephant said, looking quite amazed. “How did you know the ration card was there? Do you have some special powers?”

“Well, I do have magical powers,” Wily Wolf bluffed. “Er…I can see things that lie even in far off places.”

Jumbo Elephant was quite gullible. He believed Wily Wolf’s tale and told his friends and neighbours about it.

Soon, news of Wily Wolf’s magical powers spread all over Champakvan and many animals went to seek his help.

Wily Wolf enjoyed the attention he got. He began to call himself “The Finder of Lost Things”. He realised that this was a great opportunity for him to make easy money.

“Wily, can you tell me where my missing chain is?” Meeku Rabbit requested Wily Wolf. “I haven’t been able to find it.”

“My nutcracker is lost, Wily,” Softy Squirrel said. “Be a dear and tell me where it is. I’ll pay you your fees.”

“Wily! Oh, Wily! Someone has stolen my cash box,” Whitey Cow cried. “All the money I earned by selling my precious milk is in it. Can you help me please?” she begged for she was anxious to recover her stolen cash box.

“Pay me first,” Wily Wolf told the worried animals. Once he had pocketed the money, he told them to go looking for their missing things in places like high mountain tops, muddy pools and dense woods that could not be reached very easily. Unable to locate their small objects in such places, the animals would soon get fed up and abandon their search. And before they could return, Wily Wolf would disappear conveniently.

“Ah! How easy it is to cheat these simple animals!” he would laugh and say. “They are so gullible!”

One day, Wily Wolf received a message from King Sher Singh. King Sher Singh had heard about Wily’s powers and wanted his help.

“Oh no! I’m doomed now!” Wily Wolf said, panicking. “King Sher Singh isn’t someone who will be conned easily. I won’t be able to escape this time.”

Wily Wolf trembled as he entered King Sher Singh’s palace.

“I need your help,” King Sher Singh told Wily Wolf. “Since the past few days, small things like pens and silver spoons and forks have suddenly started disappearing from my palace. And today, the thief has grown bolder. He has stolen my wristwatch and a bunch of keys that I had left on the garden table.”

Wily Wolf nodded respectfully as King Sher Singh went on. He didn’t want him to guess how nervous he was.

King Sher Singh then said, “O Finder of Lost Things, the missing bunch of keys contains the keys to my safe. I am worried that the thief might open my safe and steal some of my priceless treasures. Can you use your powers and tell me where the keys are?”

Wily Wolf didn’t know what to do or say.

“I need some time,” he finally said, hoping to buy some time. “I must go home and chant some hymns before the answer to this great mystery comes to me.”

“All right,” King Sher Singh said. “Take your time. If you do solve the mystery of the missing keys, I’ll confer the title of ‘The Royal Finder of Lost Things’ on you, and also reward you with a gold medal.”

Wily Wolf nodded even though he was terrified. He then returned to his house and worried all along the way. “Oh no,” he said to himself. “How am I going to solve the mystery? I have fooled the simple animals successfully but King Sher Singh won’t fall for my tricks!”

Wily Wolf stayed at home for the rest of the day, wondering what he would do, when he suddenly heard his son Smiley Wolf enter the house. “Waaah!” Smiley Wolf wailed. “My doll is gone! I was playing with it under the tamarind tree when a strange-looking bird swooped down and picked it up with its beak. It then took it to its nest on the tree!”

Smiley Wolf pounded his fists on a table. “Father!” he wept. “I want my doll back from that bird! Waaah!” Wily Wolf’s wife entered the room. “That bird must be the magpie who has built its nest on the tamarind tree. Don’t you know that I never keep small things outside the house? The magpie always carries them away,” she said.

“Is that so?” Wilf Wolf said and jumped up. He rubbed his hands gleefully and said, “I have solved the mystery then! I’ve found King Sher Singh’s thief!” Both Smiley Wolf and Wily Wolf’s wife looked surprised.

“Well, yes!” Wily Wolf said, running out of the house. “Show me where its nest is! I’m sure I’ll find King Sher Singh’s bunch of keys there!” Wily Wolf then told his son and wife that magpies were attracted to shiny objects. “They are known for carrying away small and shiny things from nearby houses. They like to keep them in their nests,” he explained. “I’m sure that the magpie on the tamarind tree has taken King Sher Singh’s bunch of keys too.”

Wily Wolf then quickly climbed up the tree. He peeped into the magpie’s nest and saw that it was full of shiny objects like toys, glass pieces, jewellery, pens, spoons, forks and pins. And yes, there was a bunch of keys there too.

Wily Wolf got down and ran to King Sher Singh’s palace. “King Sher Singh! I have your answer!” he said trying not to sound very excited. “Your keys are in a nest on a tamarind tree not far away from here.”

“Is that so?” King Sher Singh asked. He then ordered his servants to find the tamarind tree and bring the nest to him.

The servants did as told and King Sher Singh was shocked when he peeped into the nest. “The bunch of keys is indeed here!” he said, looking very astonished. “Wily Wolf, you really are incredible! And I’m rewarding you, as I promised, with the title of ‘The Royal Finder of Lost Things’. I’m also giving you a gold medal and several thousand rupees!”

Wily Wolf managed to smile even though he was still feeling very nervous. “Thank you,” he said, bowing to King Sher Singh and accepted his rewards.

“I’ve had a stroke of good luck today,” he muttered as he walked home that day. “But I better give up fooling the animals and do some honest work instead. I’d rather work hard than get myself into a situation like this again!”

THE LITTLE DOVE

Little Rudra lived in a small house, with his parents, near the city garden. His parents loved him very much.

Now that he was five years old, he thought himself to be very big. Sometimes, he would not listen to them.

One day, Rudra saw a small dove in his lawn. He approached it. It was bleeding. Rudra’s mother also came out to the lawn, when she saw that it was injured. She took the baby dove inside the house. She cleaned its wounds. She gave the bird something to eat.

Rudra was very curious. So many questions came to his mind. From where had the bird come? Where were its parents? Why couldn’t it fly? How did it get hurt? He wondered.

That night, Mother made the bird sleep in a cardboard box. She fed it the next day. She took good care of it. The next day, Rudra went to school very reluctantly. At school, Rudra kept thinking about the bird.

As soon as he returned home, he went to see the dove. It seemed to be recovering. Mother had put it back into the lawn. It was walking.

Suddenly, Rudra saw a big dove approaching. The baby dove ran towards it. The mummy dove had something in her mouth. She fed her baby.

Rudra called out to his mother. Both of them were very happy to see the mummy dove feed the baby dove throughout the day. That night, his mother kept the baby dove inside the house. It still could not fly. If it was kept outside, they feared that the cat would kill it.

His mother explained to Rudra that the baby dove must have disobeyed his parents. It might have come out of the nest when its wings were not strong enough. Therefore, it must have fallen down and hurt itself.

Every day, his mother took the baby dove out and put it on the lawn. Its mummy used to come and feed it. The baby dove soon recovered.

One evening, while Rudra was watching, mummy dove fed the baby. A little later, both of them flew away. Rudra thought to himself, “Perhaps its wings become strong.”

Rudra felt sad after his friend, the baby dove, had left. He was also happy that at last the little dove would be with its family.

Rudra vowed never ever to disobey his parents. He had learnt that whatever the elders say, they say so for our good. We must follow them.

The Poem Feat

Sundarvan’s King Shaatir Lion was very fond of poems. He would reward anyone who recited even average poems.

When Bunky Monkey came to know this, she said to her husband, Beeru Monkey, “You should go and narrate a poem to get the reward from the king.”

Beeru said, “That’s fine, but the problem is I don’t know any poem. What will I say in front of the king?”

Bunky was clever. She suggested, “While going there, just narrate whatever you see on the way, in the form of a poem. Be confident. You will definitely be rewarded.”

Beeru liked her suggestion. He immediately set out for the king’s palace.

On the way, he saw a crow sitting on a rock, near the pond. He was repeatedly filling water in his beak, pouring it on the rock and rubbing it with his beak. Beeru instantly made up a poem.

“Rub, rub and rub, While pouring water, I know, O Blacky, What is there in your heart?”

After creating the poem, Beeru felt good. He went to the palace. He narrated his poem in front of the king. The king appreciated his effort. He rewarded him suitably.

The king’s minister, Lukkhu Hyena, wanted to kill the king. He wished to become king himself.

The king’s barber, Blacky Bear, was also involved in this conspiracy. Lukkhu had made a plan.

When Blacky would go to the palace to shave the king’s beard the next day, he would slit his throat with the razor.

Blacky, as per the plan, did reach the palace. However, he couldn’t muster the courage to kill King Shaatir. He kept pouring water on the slab and rubbing the razor against it.

Seeing him do so, again and again, King Shaatir remembered the poem that he had heard from Beeru the day before. He repeated that poem

“Rub, rub and rub, While pouring water, I know, O Blacky, What is there in your heart?”

Blacky was stunned when he heard these words from King Shaatir. He fell at the king’s feet. He pleaded, “Maharaj, I am innocent. Minister Lukkhu Hyena asked me to do this. Please forgive me. I am not at fault.”

The king was taken aback by Blacky’s words. Blacky revealed the entire plan. The king set him free. He ordered that Lukkhu should be arrested. He punished him for his deeds.

The king received Beeru in his palace with great respect. He told him how his poem had saved his life. The king applauded Beeru. He gave him credit for saving his life through his poem. He gave Beeru very high remuneration. This ended all of Beeru’s problems.

Thank you very much

Two garbage bins had been placed across a street. The street houses dumped their garbage into these bins.

The road sweepers also used the same bins to dump the waste collected from the roads. Every evening, a large dumping van came by. It emptied these bins. Thus, the two bins were empty at the end of each day.

The kind of domestic waste that was put into the bins said a lot about each household. Egg peels in the bins showed households that consumed non-vegetarian foods. The two bins used to discuss the type of waste inside them.

“Yesterday, house number 3 had cooked lady’s finger,” said the first bin.

“I am sure that number 9 had cooked kebabs,” said the second The broom that was kept nearby heard the conversation. It said, “Both of you are destined to live with dirt and garbage. How are you so happy?”

The bins replied, “We have no complaints whatsoever with our job. We gather all the waste inside us. Thus, the entire colony is clean. This gives us immense happiness and satisfaction.”

The broom had nothing to say.

One day, as usual, the garbage collector dumped the waste into one of the bins. Along with the garbage, he accidentally dropped in a diamond necklace. The bin was shocked to see this.

“Such a beautiful necklace!” exclaimed the first bin. “It must be worth a few lakhs.” …

…“True,” said the other bin. “We serve people every day. Someone must have sent this as a reward. Now, you are the owner of this beautiful necklace. Congratulations!”

The first bin happily said, “Thank you. It feels good to own something as precious as this.”

Just then, the first bin heard an inner voice speak. It said, “The person who owns this necklace must be sad right now. Think about her.”

The bin felt a sense of guilt.

“If you do not wish to keep this necklace, then give it to me. I am waiting to put it on,” said the second bin.

The first bin said, “It’s not right to keep someone else’s property. Recollect the time when you had lost one of your handles. You were so tense and upset. Right now, the owner of this necklace must be going through similar pain. I am going to return this to its owner.”

“Stop talking like a fool,” said the other bin. “Hide the necklace in a corner. The van will arrive soon. It will take the necklace along with the garbage.”

The second bin tried to convince the first one to hide the necklace. The first bin did not act. It looked around as it wanted to speak to Golu, the dog. Golu couldn’t be seen anywhere. However, his wife Julie was walking on the other side of the road. The bin called out to Julie. It put the necklace around her neck.

Julie was amazed to see such a pretty necklace. She said, “Wow! It’s so cute. Thank you. Is it for me?”

The bin said, “It’s neither mine nor yours. It belongs to someone else. We have to return it to the owner. Will you help me do so?”

“Yes. I will,” said Julie.

The bin hid Julie behind it so that no one could see her wearing the necklace.

Just then the bin saw a lady. She seemed to be searching for something. She was very tense. She was weeping. The bin understood that the lady must be the owner of the necklace. She was crying because she has lost it.

The bin told Julie, “Go and return the necklace to that lady.” |

Julie walked towards the lady. She stood in front of her. When she saw her necklace, the lady stopped crying. She was happy. She picked up the necklace from Julie’s neck.

She said, “Thank you very much.”

She hugged Julie and patted her. She also gave her biscuits to eat. She said that she would feed Julie every day.

Julie turned to the bin and said, “Thank you. You deserve the credit. The work that you have done today is praiseworthy.” The bin smiled. It said, “Good work always pays. It brings immense joy and satisfaction.”

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